


Severe

by Anonymous



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Violence, Gen, M/M, Nightmares, Past Abuse, Violence, Weapons, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24464053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: There is explicit graphic violence in this fic so if you don't feel safe reading, please don't readBasically a vent fic that I decided to keep
Relationships: Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25
Collections: Anonymous





	Severe

He had been picking and dropping crates for what felt like hours. The work was worse this time around and he didn't know why. 

His joints were screaming at him to stop.

His weakness was showing through the layers meant to conceal it.

This pain was killing Erik from the inside out, but what else could he expect? The crates don’t magically lighten and carry themselves. Besides, even if they did, they would pile even more work on him to try and kill him some more. They always did like to work him almost to death. Sometimes it even amused them, the sadistic bastards. 

At the very least they would leave Mia alone.

There was nothing here for him but it was still something to keep him and his sister alive. There was no love, no security. It was all down to survival. 

“What is this!? You call that working!?”

_Here came the hand._

Chief's hand smashed him in the back of the head so hard he almost slammed face-first into the crate right in front of him. That wooden edge would’ve made a nice, deep cut across the forehead as well as a few bloody splinters. 

Erik's hands were shaking as he gripped the edges of the crate, scared to move. 

“Don’t think I’ve noticed you moping around all glum? You think you can get any sort of sorry sympathy out of me? DO YOU?” He could physically feel the Viking’s face right next to his but he was too scared to look. He could even feel his heart lodged in his throat but he didn’t dare utter a word.

**For fuck's sake, do not piss him off.**

"Perhaps I ought to beat it out of you if that’s what it takes."

_Erik thanked the Goddess above that Mia wasn't here to see this. ___

__He only had a moment to gasp weakly as Chief grabbed him by the throat, choking him, and slung him to the ground, head-first. The shock from the impact temporarily impaired his consciousness but his vision cleared just enough to see Chief's boot kick him in the stomach and launch him into the nearby stone wall. Erik coughed weakly as he tried to shakily get back up, his tears forming but he mustered everything he had not to cry. Chief grabbed him by the throat again and decked him across the face, enough to give him a black eye before tossing him back down._ _

__"A real Viking gets back on 'is own two feet, now GET UP!"_ _

__He could hear the tail-end of the heavy whip being dragged on the ground. Chief always carried it curled up and attached to his belt, sending a message that it would be very easy to whip someone who crossed him. It was the one with glass shards woven into it. Its deceptively small size hid a nasty surprise in the form of having a pain one would only find in the worst of a cat-o'-nine-tails. Erik was all too familiar with this weapon, having several close calls of being hit. He scrambled to pick himself back up out of true fear. He still shook in his shoes and tried to calm his beating heart, but that was no use with the Chief's whip in clear view._ _

__Erik knew that Chief had no qualms whipping people with the thing. Combined with the sadistic demeanor he was currently sporting, he wondered if he was secretly the Devil in disguise._ _

__“Now, let’s see about getting that nonsense knocked out of you, then?”_ _

__He was so tempted to cower but he knew that any sudden movement like that was going to make the beating even more severe than ever. Chief raised his head, noticing something amiss in the air. Erik didn’t know what he was searching for but it only provided shaky relief of not getting whipped immediately._ _

__“Seems we got a rat lurking around here.”_ _

__He watched as Chief walked around to the side of the crates and he held his breath._ _

___Please let it just be an actual rat and not-_ _ _

__“I thought so.”_ _

__He watched as Chief pulled up Mia by her scarf, effectively choking her. She was only a tiny thing, helpless as she dangled by her yellow noose. She was the only family he had left, he couldn’t lose her._ _

___He couldn’t._ _ _

__"Well, isn't this something? Maybe I ought to whip some discipline into both of you." Chief decided as he threw Mia along with him. Erik scrambled over to Mia, seeing that she was getting her breath back._ _

__He looked up just in time to see the heavy whip come down and stretched himself out over Mia, feeling the glass shards rip through his clothes and down to his skin like it was fabric. He could feel the blood dripping and staining his clothes. The sharp pain came almost immediately and he felt the urge to yell._ _

__So he hollered like a wounded animal to the gods above with a voice that sounded nothing like his own but filled with anguish and suffering._ _

__" ** _Erik!_** "_ _

__His eyes shot open and he woke up abruptly in a cold sweat. His heart was beating a million miles an hour and his breathing was labored and panicky._ _

__He felt a hand on his shoulder that wasn't his, and so he looked over and up to Eleven next to him, clearly very worried and about to cry even._ _

__"Sweet, are you alright? I was so worried…"_ _

__Erik looked around the room to find that he was in their bedroom, in their bed, in their shared sheets. He aimlessly scrubbed at his eyes and found them to be watery like he had been crying, which he probably had._ _

__"Erik?" Erik looked back at Eleven and his heart broke. He couldn't have imagined how awful it must've been to see your partner in the middle of an awful nightmare._ _

__"I… I'm sorry." Erik quietly said, looking away._ _

__"You don't have to apologize, sweet. Just know that I'm right here for you, okay? If you don't want to talk about the dream, that's alright."_ _

__He didn't have the heart to, it was too painful to recall._ _

__"Did it involve… them?" Eleven gently probed, not wanting the question to be specific for fear of scaring him._ _

__Erik knew who Eleven was referring to, and simply nodded his head. Eleven cautiously lifted a hand to his cheek and stroked just under his eye, feeling Erik's shaky hands hold onto his own and melt into it. He then kissed his forehead and tried to ease Erik back into bed and under the sheets again. Erik still held onto him with a shaky grip, so when he lied back down with him, Erik withdrew his hands._ _

__"Come here, sweet. Let's see if some cuddling would help. Would that be alright with you?"_ _

__Erik sniffled some and nodded, feeling himself being pulled into Eleven's warm embrace. Normally he was aversive about people touching his hair, but Eleven's calming, stroking hand was always an exception. He wrapped his arms around Eleven's waist and buried his head in his chest, wanting to be as close to him as physically possible. He smelled of lavender, Erik noticed, but it was such a comforting scent._ _

__"Don't worry, you'll always be safe here. I will always protect you..." He heard Eleven's whispering voice in his ear._ _

__One day, he would be able to find closure with those Vikings, but right now, there was nowhere else he'd rather be but in his husband's arms._ _

__He wanted to stay that way, at least for a little while._ _


End file.
